Commuters may wait a month for a decision on compensation for Princes Bridge rail chaos

Commuters delayed in last night’s rail chaos at Flinders St Station face another long wait before they find out if they will receive any compensation, the government says.

A line of disgruntled commuters stretched from Finders St Station across Princes Bridge yesterday. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

Commuters caught in yesterday’s train chaos will have to wait a month to see whether they will be compensated.

Thousands of passengers were left stranded, with huge lines stretching across Princes Bridge, as a fatal accident combined with scheduled train shutdowns to cause lengthy delays.

But under revamped transport contracts, passengers will not be compensated specifically for last night’s dramas. They may only be compensated if Metro Trains fails to meet monthly performance targets.

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It was announced last week that commuters with a myki could apply for compensation after just 88.4 per cent of Metro services were on time in March — well short of the 92 per cent target.

“What we will do is get the April performance data and, if those same thresholds are met, a similar payment regime will be applied,” Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said today.

Huge lines of commuters queued from Flinders St Station and across Princes Bridge for replacement buses. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

An 83-year-old Hampton woman was hit and killed by a train at the Holyrood St crossing about 4pm yesterday.

Ms Allan said advice last night indicated that the site where the woman was killed “had active gates”.

The tragedy, now being probed by the Coroner, closed the entire Sandringham line as police, emergency services and Metro staff worked to clear the scene.

Ms Allan said it was not possible to run trains on even some sections of line because it was an “older” line and required some manual operation.

She said the operators also had to take advice from Victoria Police who became responsible for the “tragic” scene.

“Any accident and incident on the network is a difficult one,” she said.

“It is a difficult one, obviously, for the family and it’s a difficult one for the staff who respond to these incidents.

Premier Daniel Andrews with Transport Minister Jacinta Allan. Picture: AAP Image/Valeriu Campan

Ms Allan, Premier Daniel Andrews and Rail Projects Victoria chief executive Evan Tattersall this morning spruiked work being done on the Metro Tunnel and announced contracts for the new Anzac Station.

Amid the rail shutdown that has forced thousands of frustrated passengers onto replacement buses, Mr Tattersall said construction was “going well, very much on time”.

At South Yarra, the Cranbourne-Pakenham line is being lowered under the Frankston and Sandringham lines to connect with the new Melbourne Metro Tunnel.

Nearby rail lines have had to be closed while piling and other work is carried out.

Mr Andrews foreshadowed that there may be “showdowns as big as this, or perhaps even bigger” to come.

“There is going to be disruption, there is going to be difficulty,” he said.

“It was compounded by tragedy yesterday but that is no reason to not get on and get these projects built.

“If we don’t have some construction-related congestion today we will have nothing but congestion in the decades to come.”

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